The Resurrected
by Love Games 'Till The End
Summary: (Previously "Welcome to the Falls) The Pines twins return to Gravity Falls, thinking that things would calm down after defeating Bill. But a new enemy has emerged, threatening everything they know and love. The lines between enemy and friend are blurred, and even after Weirdmageddon, the Pines aren't confident they can survive this. After all, how can you defeat yourself?
1. The Return

" _Stanley…"_

" _Stanley!"_

With a gasp, Stanley Pines bolted upright, covered in a cold sweat. Gasping heavily, his eyes darted around in an attempt to find out where he was. He sighed in relief. He was just in his boat, his brother Stanford at his side, a worried look on his face.

"Stanley, are you alright? You were muttering something in your sleep…" Ford asked nervously. After Weirdmageddon, he still couldn't help but feel nervous whenever one of them had a nightmare. The same was true for his brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a nightmare." Stan grinned at his twin in an attempt to calm him. "A normal one, not caused by an interdimensional Dorito."

"If you say so…"

Stan sighed, exasperated. "Come on Ford, he's dead. I _watched_ him die. So don't worry about it, okay?"

The Author smiled a little, before pulling out a burgundy book and starting to write in it. "You're right, I'm just being paranoid, aren't I?"

His twin grinned in response. "Yep. Besides, a little nightmare never hurt anybody."

* * *

Stanley Pines was nervous.

He waited at the bus stop, sticking his hands into his pockets and kicking around a stray soda can, in an attempt to calm his nerves. Today was the day his great niece and nephew would come to Gravity Falls a second time, and he wanted everything to be perfect. After all they went through last summer, Stan figured that the least he could do was give them a more relaxing summer, filled with fun, counterfeiting, and hopefully not too much monster fighting and mystery solving.

But would that be enough to satisfy them?

After all, they were teenagers now.

Technically.

Stan was snapped out of his thoughts by a familiar green bus speeding towards the stop directly towards. He gasped in surprise, and jumped back just before he was crushed by the vehicle.

Stan dusted himself off, and ran up to the bus, intending to give the driver a piece of his mind. "Hey, what's the big idea, you reckless son of a-"

"GRUNKLE STAN!" Suddenly a giant pink ball slammed into him, knocking him down to the ground and crushing him in a bear hug. "GRUNKLE STAN!" Mabel Pines shrieked his name in pure joy, her smile threatening to split her face. Stan could do nothing except flash her an unsteady grin back.

The second Pines twin ran down the stairs after her, carrying both his and Mabel's luggage. "Grunkle Stan!" Dipper Pines ran up to him, a worried look on his face. Mabel's pet pig, Waddles, was right on his heels. "I'm so sorry! Mabel hijacked the bus, and-"

"What?! You hijacked a vehicle?! Good, that means you're not out of practice!" Stan ruffled Mabel's hair, then pulled her up. "Alright, let me get a good look at you two."

For the most part, Mabel hadn't changed much. She was wearing her normal sweater and skirt outfit, and her long brown hair was in a pink headband. She was taller, and her features were a little sharper, but the changes ended there.

Dipper, on the other hand, had changed quite a bit since last summer. He had grown, and was taller than Mabel. He wore a dark blue jacket and jeans, along with the hat that Wendy had given him last year.

"Sheesh, I barely recognise you kids," Stan sighed, taking some luggage from Dipper, much to the latter's relief.

"Yeah, we had a bit of a growth spurt…" Dipper said sheepishly.

"But I'm way better at drawing now, so maybe now we won't get caught forging anymore, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel cheerfully remarked.

Stan grinned. "That's my girl. Come on, Ford and Soos are waiting at the Shack."

* * *

The Mystery Shack was still the ratty old building Dipper remembered from last summer. He could see that some places were fixed-up, while others looked even more old and ruined than before. Strangely enough, the "S" still hadn't been repaired.

"Alright, here we are," Stan jumped onto the porch and dug a key out of his pocket, and unlocked the door.

Only to be sprayed in the face with silly string.

"What the?! What!" he grabbed onto his face, attempting to get the substance off, but to no avail. Mabel laughed and pulled out a camera snapping a few photos, while Dipper simply shook his head.

"Surprise!" A small crowd of people streamed out of the Mystery Shack. Stanford Pines, Soos, Wendy, Candy, and Grenda approached the trio.

"Candy! Grenda! Soos! Everyone!" Mabel squealed in delight, running up and wrapping them each in a bear hug.

"Great Uncle Ford!" Dipper grinned. Upon hearing his name, the Author approached him, a smile on his face.

"Dipper! So good to see you!" Ford stood on one knee, ruffling the teen's hair.

"How's life out of the Falls dude?" Soos asked, dressed in his suit and fez.

"Hehe, pretty cool. Not nearly as exciting as Gravity Falls, of course," Dipper replied sheepishly. "How's the shop?"

"Dude, I've totally got it down. She's visiting her parents now, but me and Melody are running it together. The shop's been doing great!" Soos beamed, and Dipper could see how proud he was of his work.

"Yeah, Soos has actually been doing a pretty good job," Wendy walked up to them, an easygoing smile on her face. "Wow Dipper, you grew a lot over the past year."

"Wendy!" Dipper smiled back. She hadn't changed a bit since last summer, except now she had Dipper's old hat on.

"That's my name. Hey, you kept my hat!" Wendy reached over and yanked her old hat over Dipper's eyes, smirking a little. "That's good, since I kept yours."

"Alright, let's all go inside. We've got a couple welcome-back presents for you two." Ford called from the porch, ushering everyone into the Shack.

Once everyone was inside, Ford walked into the kitchen and picked up two presents, one with blue wrapping and one with pink. He carried them over to the Pines twins, giving the blue one to Dipper and the pink one to Mabel.

Mabel immediately ripped hers open, revealing a brand new knitting kit for her, along with some paints and colored pencils. There was even a collar for Waddles. She gasped in delight, running up to her two Grunkles and embracing them.

"Thank you so much!" Mabel squealed in delight. They simply smiled in return.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Stan turned to Dipper. "Come on kiddo, open yours."

Dipper slowly opened the blue package, having no clue what was inside. What he found shocked him. It was a single book, burgundy colored, with gold rims. On the front cover was a golden six-fingered hand, with a big "4" in the middle.

"What the...is this…" was all he could say.

"Since the original journals were destroyed last summer, I took everything I remembered, and some new facts, and made a fourth journal," Ford explained, "and this one is just for you."

"Great Uncle Ford…" Dipper gazed at him, gratitude in his eyes. "Thanks."

"Hey, hey, hey, he doesn't get all the credit," Stan butted in, "I improved it!"

Dipper opened the book to the first page. He stared at it for a second, eyes widening, then closed it a little too hastily.

"Thanks, Grunkle Stan…" Dipper said, scarred for life.

"Aw, you're welcome kid!" Stan grinned at him.

* * *

They had all partied for a while longer, but eventually the sky darkened. Bidding their friends good-bye, the Pines (and Soos) turned in for the night.

"Man, what a great day, don't you you think so, Dipper?" Mabel asked groggily, climbing into her bed from last summer, Waddles curled up at her feet. Dipper did the same.

"Yep. Now we can be the 'Mystery Twins' again," Dipper smiled to himself. "And this time we won't have to worry about Gideon and Pacifica bothering us."

"Yeah. And we won't have to deal with those bullies at school at all this summer! We left them back in Piedmont!" Mabel laughed.

Hearing that comment, a dark look crossed Dipper face, which went unnoticed by Mabel. He mumbled a short "yes" in response.

"G'night, Dipper!"

"Good night, Mabel."

Just before he fell asleep, Dipper could've sworn he'd heard something.

 _Welcome back, Pine Tree._

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **I know I'm a little late, but I've had this idea in my head for a long time, so I decided to take the shot.**

 **I've just started writing, so I'd greatly appreciate feedback. That way I'll be able to make this story more enjoyable for you. I'm sorry if I get some facts wrong too, it's been a while since I saw the finale. :b**

 **I don't own Gravity Falls, but I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to make a cartoon that's just as good!**

 **I'll try to update as frequently as I can. Until then!**

 **Oh, and what do you think Dipper saw in the Journal?**


	2. Something Weird, Something Normal

Twelve people stood in a dark room, inside a circle. One was gagged and bound.

Ten of them, dressed in black cloaks with with a slitted eye pattern surrounded by bricks on the hood, stood at the edge of the circle, each one front of a symbol.

Their leader raised their hands to the sky, and began to chant in an indescribable language. The other followers joined them, while the gagged man looked on in fear. Around them, the circle and symbols started glowing. The head priest, still reciting the chant, walked towards the altar where the gagged man was tied, pulling out a knife.

"Mmf! MMNF!" the man attempted to scream, realizing what they were about to do. It was no use though, as the bindings were too tight.

Just as the priest raised the knife, eyes glowing harshly, they recited the final line of their chant.

Eloo Flskhu! Uhwxuq wkh Crgldf!

* * *

 _Mabel danced around gleefully in a meadow, surrounded by all her favorite animals. Foxes and bunnies walked hand in hand. Flowers bloomed as far as the eye could see. She was elected president of Earth. World peace was achieved._

 _She laughed, twirling around some more before flopping down into a grass patch. A smiling monkey brought her a covered plate. As she slowly lifted up the lid, she was caught by a sweet scent…_

 _...which was overpowered by the sharp smell of something burning._

 _She lifted the plate all the way up, revealing a pancake shaped in the face of her Grunkle Stan. Where his hair would be was...more hair. All the animals around her stepped back in disgust, appalled by what they had seen. Her perfect world collapsed, leaving Mabel and that_ stupid _Stancake floating in an inky blackness._

" _No...no...no! DIE YOU STUPID STANCAKE!" Mabel shrieked, as she grabbed a baseball that appeared out of nowhere, bringing it down on the evil food-hair hybrid-_

"Ouch! Mabel!"

Mabel woke up from her dreaming state, frozen as she saw that her fist was brought up. In front of her was Dipper, clutching his nose, a painful expression in his eyes.

"What the heck, Mabel?" He hissed. He removed his hand, and Mabel was horrified to see some blood leak out.

"Dipper! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" Mabel recovered from her shock, and immediately leaped to her brother's side. Dipper shooed her away instead.

"I'll be fine. Just go downstairs, okay? Breakfast's ready." Her brother ran downstairs ahead of her, probably to get a tissue.

Mabel followed, a feeling of guilt in her chest. As she approached the kitchen, she was met with the same sharp smell that was in her dream.

"Hey, look who finally woke up!" Stan called, appearing at the entrance to the kitchen, a pan in his hand. "Today we're having Stancakes…" he glanced at the pan, and winced. "with extra hair."

"Grunkle Staaaaan, at least _try_ not to get hair in," Mabel complained, sitting down at the dining table, watching as her Grunkle dumped a few Stancakes onto her plate.

Dipper came out of a separate room a couple minute afterwards, holding a tissue over his nose. He was wearing the hat Wendy had given him last summer, as usual.

"Dipper!" Mabel grinned. "How's your nose?"

"It's alright, the bleeding's slowing down," Dipper replied. Mabel could see that he was still annoyed, but decided not to push the subject.

Breakfast was quiet. While she picked the hair out of her Stancakes, Dipper continued reading through the fourth journal that Grunkle Ford had given him yesterday. His food was cast aside, half-eaten. Mabel started to get annoyed with the awkward silence, so she reached over and tugged at the book, which prompted her brother to tug back and uncurl her fingers off of it.

"Don't do that Mabel! I don't want to ruin the book the day after I get it!" Dipper said sternly, glaring at his sister.

"But Bro-Bro, I'm bored. Come on, let's have a syrup race!" Mabel suggested, already taking one of the syrup bottles on the table. She had to cheer her brother up a bit, or else he might be in a grumpy mood for the rest of the day.

Dipper's eyes softened a bit, much to her relief. He closed the book and put it down. "Alright, but I'll warn you, I've been practicing."

Mabel grinned, popping open the lid and holding it over her mouth. "Okay! On your marks! Get set! Go-"

"Morning, Dudes!" Soos came in, stopping their race. In his hands were two stuffed, skinned...owls? Mabel recoiled in disgust.

"Morning, Soos."

"Soos, can you not bring those in while we're eating?" she asked, covering her eyes.

"Oh, sorry." Soos hid the owls behind his back. "Just getting ready for the new attraction. I'm gonna call it "The Flying Man Baby".

Soos sat down between them, putting his attractions down and pouring himself a glass of orange juice. He grinned.

"SO." he said. "I've got a new mystery for you, hambones."

Dipper finally looked up from his book. "New mystery?"

"The gnomes, hambone," Soos explained. "They're going berserk. Running around, biting people, stealing shiny stuff. It's bad for business."

"Isn't that kind of normal for gnomes?" Dipper asked. "Or maybe it's just mating-"

Mabel raised a hand, interrupting him. "Dipdop, please, don't finish that sentence." She shivered, remembering her first encounter with the gnomes.

Dipper obliged, and turned back to Soos. "So you want us to check what's up with them?"

"You got it."

"Okay!" Dipper grinned, closing his journal. "Let's go, Mabel!"

"Dipping Sauce." Mabel reached for his arm, stopping him.

"What?"

"Eat your Stancakes."

"...'kay."

* * *

Unbeknownst to both of them, a few people were watching them from a distance. Not wearing cloaks, they could easily be mistaken as typical tourists. One of them pulled out out a walkie-talkie, turning it on and speaking a short message into it.

"The Pine Tree and Shooting Star have entered Gravity Falls."

* * *

 **Hello!**

 **Thank you, everyone who read my first chapter, and those who reviewed. I'll try to make the chapters longer in the future, once I really get the plot going.**

 **I'm also going to try to update once a week. So, until then!**

 **Oh, and who do you think the mysterious people are?**


	3. Author Update!

Hello!

First of all, let me say how sorry I am for not updating. A lot of stuff happened, and since I use my school computer to write this I wasn't able to update over the summer.

That being said, I won't abandon this fic. Though the plot will undergo a few changes. It occurred to me that the plot of the twins returning to Gravity Falls has been done many times already. I did a lot of brainstorming over the summer, and I think I now know where I want this fic to go.

The first chapter will remain largely unchanged, but the second chapter will be revised.

I'll update by next week. Until then, please be patient!

Sorry~

Love The Games


	4. And Then A Conspiracy

**NOTICE: I WILL BE CHANGING THE NAME OF THE STORY TO "THE RESURRECTED". I WILL ALSO EDIT THE SUMMARY.**

 **Heya. After a full summer, I've finally managed to release a chapter. I am so sorry for taking so long.**

 **I've also changed things in chapter 2, so you may want to reread that if you haven't already. Some of the plot details have changed.**

 **Enjoyyyyyy**

* * *

"So you just want to make peace with the pixies?" Dipper asked Jeff the gnome.

"Yep. Ever since Shmebulock" he jabbed a finger at the elder gnome, "ticked one of them off they've been pranking us nonstop! And now they're using us as expendable soldiers in their secret world domination plan!" Suddenly, Jeff gasped, covering his mouth, glancing at the pixie leader sitting across from him in fear. "I've said too much."

"Damn right!" Jessica, (what was with these names?) the leader of the pixies, sneered at Jeff and Dipper, exposing razor sharp teeth. "You humans have no business in our conflict! I don't even know why I'm still here!"

"Because," Dipper said, exasperated, "you keep attacking the human residents. We can't keep letting you do that."

"So what? It's not our problem. And it's not our fault that the old geezer here decided to pull such a stupid stunt," Jessica waved a small piece of parchment in Dipper's face. "Right here, it violates Section 22 of the Gnome-Pixie Treaty."

"But Jessica," the gnome leader argued, "to be fair, Shmebulock is kinda... _disturbed_."

Shmebulock hissed in response.

"That's true," Jessica admitted. "But still, you shouldn't have-"

"Okay okay, this is probably going to take forever with Dipdop negotiating, so imma take charge now."

Mabel finally spoke up, being bored out of mind for listening to the two races argue back and forth for a whole hour. She sat down in between the Jeff and Jessica, and pulled out her phone.

"Music makes everything better."

Five rounds of _Don't Start Unbelieving_ later, and the gnome and pixie leaders were shaking hands as Dipper looked on in disbelief.

"Mabel, thanks to you, our two races are once again at peace. How can we ever thank you?" Jeff asked.

"Hmmm, let's see...RAVE!"

Dipper sighed in exasperation and glanced at his watch. "Mabel,we have to be at the Shack in a few minutes to help restock. Can you make this quick?"

"Hmph. Party pooper!" Mabel grumbled. "But okay. I just need some fairy dust."

"...What for?"

"That's a secret!"

Jessica sighed, and snapped her fingers. A nearby pixie handed her a bag full of a golden powder. She handed it to Mabel. "Take pixie dust instead, trust me, it's better."

"Oooooh!" Mabel exclaimed, poking at the bag.

"Come on, Mabel!" Dipper called, starting to walk away. Mabel waved to the creatures and began to follow him.

Jeff called back to them. "Be careful out there, kiddos! There's been some freaky stuff going on lately!"

Dipper froze, and turned back to the gnome. "What...do you mean?"

"You're talking about those freaks, right?" Jessica asked. "I don't like them at all. They have the scent of nightmares."

"There's been some strange people around lately," Jeff clarified. "Really creepy. Cloaks, hoods, typical cult. Not the first one we've seen."

"Yeah…" Dipper muttered, remembering the Blind Eye.

"Well, if we find any creeps, the Mystery Twins will be sure to stop them!" Mabel stated cheerfully. "Promise!"

"Mabel, you're an angel. Are you _sure_ you don't want to be my wife?"

"Don't push it."

* * *

"Where have you kids been?" Stan grunted, handing the kids boxes of merchandise to shelf.

Dipper shrugged. "Organising a peace treaty between the gnomes and pixies."

Mabel grinned. " _Someone's_ mad that they didn't get to be the hero!"

"Mabel!"

"Kids kids, stop arguing and start reshelving!" Stan pushed the twins to opposite sides of the shop. "Soos is doing tours right now, so don't make a fuss."

"Hey Grunkle Stan, where's Great Uncle Ford?" Dipper asked. He hadn't seen his other Grunkle for the whole day.

"In the basement, where else? Something about circles, new theory, some weirdos crawling around? Not that I care." Stan replied, sounding exasperated.

 _Weirdos?..._

"Yeah, you're into that kind of stuff, right kiddo?"

"Uh…"

Stan sighed. "Tell you what, kid. Go drag him out of his hole. It's his house, might as well work for it. You can finish reshelving later."

Dipper hesitated. "Are you sure it's a good idea to interrupt his work…"

"Kid, if you don't bring him up, you can use that time to clean the porta-porta instead."

"I'm going, I'm going!" Dipper exclaimed, running to the vending machine. He quickly punched in the code and took the elevator down.

The basement was a lot messier than before. Papers were scattered everywhere in the dark room, some pinned to the walls, some left carelessly on the floor. Dipper could see his Great Uncle hunched over a desk on the other end of the room.

"Great Uncle Ford?..." Dipper called quietly. Ford's head jerked up and sharply turned towards him. Dipper noticed the bags under his eyes. His face seemed a little more hollow than before.

"Dipper? It's good to see you, as always, but I'm afraid I'm a little busy right now..." Ford said, rubbing his eyes.

Dipper shrugged. "Grunkle Stan told me to bring you up to see the sun."

"What?! I can't, not now!" Ford exclaimed.

"Grunkle Ford, no offense, but staying in a dark room all day isn't exactly doing wonders to your appearance," Dipper reasoned. "You really should come up."

"Mmm," was Ford's only reply. Completely ignoring what Dipper had said, he motioned for his nephew to come closer. "I'm on a breakthrough here, take a look at this."

Sighing, Dipper approached his uncle and viewed the reason for his stubbornness. Spread out on the desk was a collection of photos, the biggest a picture of what was known as the Zodiac. Surrounding it were photos of cave paintings with various scenes. One depicted what looked like a warzone. Another showed a burning field. All were quite violent, and all of them had at least one symbol from the Zodiac.

"Cave paintings I found during our travels," Ford explained. "they were scattered across the world. Dipper, do you know what this means?"

Dipper shook his head.

"It means there were other Zodiac members before us! Other Pine Trees, Shooting Stars, Sixers…"

"Wait a minute," It finally clicked. "You mean like, reincarnation?"

"Exactly!"

"That's cool Grunkle Ford, but what does that have to do with...well, anything?"

Ford pointed to a small photo in the corner. There were strange symbols painted discreetly beside the burning field. "The numbers are some kind of code. I haven't been able to decipher them though. I've found ten of them in all. It could be some prophecy, or warning, or something along these lines. Either way, I'm not going to leave this basement till-"

A sudden crash was heard from upstairs, immediately followed by screams and shouting. Dipper and Ford met each other's eyes for a moment, and ran to the elevator.

What they found upstairs was a burning shack.

The windows had been shattered, broken glass everywhere. Some of the furniture was broken as well, if not set on fire. Flames billowed around them, swallowing everything like a hungry monster. Dipper's eyes widened in shock.

"Holy…"

A burst of white shown to his left. Grunkle Stan held a fire extinguisher. Mabel was by his side, holding him tightly.

"Mabel! Grunkle Stan" Dipper shouted, stepping around the flames and broken glass to his sister and Grunkle.

"Dipper! What happened?! Did you and Ford do this?!" Mabel shouted back.

"No!"

"I figured it was one of _your_ shenanigans, Stanley," Ford muttered, inspecting the damage his poor shack had been inflicted to.

"Please, it's not _always_ my fault, Poindexter," Stan snapped back. "Soos and Wendy are evacuating the tourists. We'd better move too, unless any of you want to be turned into BBQ."

"Alright then, let's go-"

A snap was heard behind the group, jerking their attention to the entrance. A tall shadow loomed over the doorway, a crushed chair leg under their foot. They were wearing a black hoodie and jeans, with a familiar heart symbol on the front…

Dipper couldn't speak, frozen in shock. He heard Mabel gasp, being the first one to speak.

"Robbie?!"

* * *

 **And thus, a cliffhanger.**

 **Once again, I'm sorry for not updating for so long. I'll do my best to release chapters ASAP.**

 **Until then! -salutes-**


	5. It

**I'm not dead!**

 **I am so, so sorry that I haven't updated in so long. School's kicked in and I'm trying to get back into the routine. No excuses though, I held this off for like a month.**

 **Also sorry for this scene. Fights are not my forte.**

* * *

"Robbie?!" Mabel gasped.

Ah. So that was his name. Stanford remembered the teenager as the stitched heart from the Zodiac. He hadn't stood out (or seemed like any threat whatsoever) at the time, so Ford had all but forgotten about him. Clearly a mistake on his part.

He didn't reply, keeping his head down. He took a step towards them.

Mabel took a step back. "Robbie! What do you want? Why are you doing this?"

Ignoring her, Robbie took another step towards them. He was holding something behind his back, but Mabel couldn't see what it was.

Come to think of it, the whole air around him was odd. It felt...ghastly, tasted unnatural. Whenever Ford tried to catch a glimpse of his face, the air seemed to waver and darken. No matter what, Robbie remained hidden beneath that aura.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Robbie charged at his brother. Stan shouted, stepping back and quickly grabbing one of the displays behind him, a poorly stitched monkey-fish monstrosity. He swung the creature at the teenager as hard as he could in the head.

Robbie didn't even flinch.

Ford gasped, unconsciously stepping back. Impossible. He should have been knocked out cold. Robbie(?) stood there as if he hadn't even been hit. Instead, the teenager reared his arm back and punched his brother in the ribs. A sickening _crack_ was heard throughout the room.

Stan screamed in pain, clutching his chest. The twins ran to their Grunkle's side immediately, shouting his name. Ford sprinted towards him as well. Robbie(?) saw him coming, and swung a fist.

Ford just barely dodged the attack, dropping to his knees and sliding (his back was going to kill him later). He pulled out his gun from his belt, and shot at the teen. Robbie(?) swerved to the side, missing the brunt of the bullet but still getting hit in the torso. Ford could have sworn he saw oil leaking out of the wound.

Robbie(?) hissed, but didn't cover the wound. Instead, he moved into a fighting stance, raising an arm. It almost looked like he was preparing to throw-

"WATCH OUT!" Ford shouted, pulling the twins and Stan(as best as he could) down. What the scientist had deduced was _certainly not_ Robbie threw his arm forward, throwing whatever he had in his hand into the burning wall behind them.

Ford felt a strong wind as the object nearly hit them. He dared to look behind him.

The wall was all but gone, splintered into a thousand edges were clean and smooth, as if an immensely strong force had blown through. The land behind was barren and cracked. Something glinted in the ground.

A dart.

Ford took a step back, horrified. This was not the work of a human. It seemed that normal guns wouldn't work. Which meant…

"Dipper!" He practically shouted in his face. "Go to the basement and take your sister! There a modified gun in the left drawer. Bring it to me!" He shoved the twins toward the barely intact vending machine. Growling, he turned toward the hooded form standing across from him.

Between Stanford and his brother Stanley, most people would have labeled him the "smart one" while his brother was "all brawn and no brains." Maybe they were right. Lee was more violent, preferring to fight his battles physically. He was the academic one. He would attempt to use his head before resorting to violence.

But then again, 30 years jumping dimensions had done him _some_ good.

Before his opponent could react, Ford swung at his face as hard as he could. A satisfying _crack_ was heard, and his opponent was knocked down. His hood opened, revealing his face. Ford gasped in shock.

The creature before him was white and had flaky skin, like dirty snow. Where it's eyes should have been were black glass orbs, red pinpricks of light acting as their irises. It had jet black hair styled exactly like Robbie's.

Ford jumped back, getting as far away from It as possible. When he was a relatively safe distance away, he let out a shaky question.

"W-what are you? Are you Robbie?!"

The Thing watched him. After what felt like an eternity, it opened its wide, hollow mouth.

" **Yes. And no.** "

Ford was confused, but It didn't give him a chance to reply. It charged at him, reaching for another dart from its pouch. He was frozen. Something wasn't letting him move. He was going to-

A grappling hook slammed into It's head.

"YEAH! Take that, sucker!" Mabel shouted, grinning. Behind her, Dipper was carrying the weapon Ford had asked him for. He looked at It in disgust.

"What _is_ that thing?!" He asked Ford.

"I don't know. We can examine it after i immobilize-

It jumped for Ford's heart. He blocked.

 _Crack_.

All he could remember was pain. Pain at a calibur he hadn't felt since he was attacked by the xxxxxx. Now was not the xxxx though. He had to make sure Mabxx and Mxxxx were okay. He had to xxxxx xxxxx. Oh no, Xx was cornering them, Mabxx was thrown against a waxx. Dixxxx xxx...

Ford passed out.

* * *

When Ford woke up, he was in a clean white bed _not burning_ , in clean white sheets _not bloody_ , in a clean white room _not pulverised by some mega monster that could have-_

He was in a hospital. His left arm was broken. Overall, he was alright. He was alive.

Hearing a sniffling to his right, he turned (as best he could, anyway) to face a sleeping Mabel, seated in a chair next to his bed, her face red and wet. She must have been crying.

Ford attempted to shift into a more comfortable position without waking her. His attempt was for naught, Mabel woke up immediately after he moved. She rubbed her eyes, mumbling, then stared at him for a few seconds.

…

"GRUNKLE FORD!" Mabel screeched, half screaming in relief, half sobbing. She dove into his arms.

"Whoa there, Mabel! I'm not dead yet!" Ford gasped, hugging Mabel back. In response, she hugged him even harder.

"Uh, sweetie, I really appreciate the hug, but do you mind telling me where Stan and your brother are?

Mabel immediately sobered, letting go of him. She pointed to the bed on the other side of the room. Stan was there, asleep but alive.

...but then where was Dipper?

Mabel seemed to read the question from his eyes. In a low, tired voice, very unlike her, she mumbled a single word.

"Psychiatrist."

* * *

 **And that's all for now! Rest assured, everything that happened will be explained next chapter, though I will warn you that it may take a while due to homework. I'll try to update as soon as I can though!**

 **Until then!**

 **Hate the Players**


	6. Speak The Truth and Pass

**Aaaaaaaand I'm back!**

 **Once again, my apologies for not updating in forever. Life and homework take up 101% of my time. Trust me though, I'm enjoying this story waaaaay too much to leave it for too long. Extra long chappie for you!**

 **And apologies to therapists everywhere for the short section here. I know next to nothing about this. Forgive me.**

 **Oh, and to answer gamelover41592's question, Stanford was out for about 6 hours, though in pretty bad condition for the first 2. He's tough, but he's also old. There's only so much punishment he can take.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter! There is a little swearing.**

* * *

 _Everything burned._

 _Ford and Stan had collapsed, sprawled out and unmoving on the burning wood floor. It was standing over them, simply watching._

 _Dipper stood over Mabel in shock. She had been thrown against the wall and had gone limp. A faint trickle of blood ran down her face. Dipper grabbed her by the shoulders._

" _Mabel...?"_

 _No response._

" _Mabel!"_

 _No response._

" _Mabel, please!"_

 _No response._

" _Don't die. You_ _ **can't**_ _die!"_

 _No respon-_

 _The Thing That Looked Like Robbie grabbed him by the back of his jacket collar and lugged him off the ground, despite his kicking and weak attempts to make It release him. It held Dipper up to Its ghastly face._

 _Dipper shivered. The monster had soulless red pinpricks for eyes, which seemed to be spreading through cracks in Its face. Even more unsettling was when Its mouth shifted._

 _It smiled._

 _Well, Dipper couldn't be sure, as what he assumed was a grin of sorts was a huge, crescent-shaped crack that nearly split Its face. Inside Its mouth was a black void, dripping with what looked like_ _black blood?_ _oil. Its claw-like fingers dug into his neck, drawing blood. He clenched his teeth in pain._

 _Suddenly, It dropped Dipper on his head and fell. Backing away, he stared at It, and the man grabbing Its leg. Grunkle Stan had regained consciousness at some point, and had dived at Its legs._

" _Kid…" he croaked. "Run...take Mabel and Ford."_

" _No!" Dipper shouted. "I'm not leaving you!"_

 _But It had already recovered and was slowly standing back up._

 _Dipper stared in horror, shaking. He didn't know what to do, he couldn't do this wasn't happening itremindedhimofweird-_

 _No. He couldn't panic now. Not when everyone's lives were at stake. Stan was once again unconscious. Mabel hadn't woken up, and Dipper was afraid that she may have gotten a concussion. Ford looked dead. He had to help his family._

 _In a burst of clarity, Dipper remembered the gun, discarded at his side. He grabbed it and shakily aimed it at the monster._

 _The fucking demon had risen to Its full height, and towered over the limp Stanley. It pulled out another dart and was aiming it at the old man._

" _Hey!"_

 _It looked up, finally noticing Dipper and the weapon pointed at Its head. It froze, Its face morphing into what looked like surprise._

" _Put down the dart or I shoot!"_

 _Once again, It slowly smiled. The oil was leaking from Its eyes now. A creaking, scratchy, horrifying sound came from Its mouth. It was laughing. Then it spoke in an echoing voice, one that almost sounded like Robbie's, but much, much older._

" _ **Child, I have no doubt that whatever I do, you will end me. A word of advice. Do not ask my kind to surrender. My brothers and sisters cannot be charmed by mercy."**_

" _What are you?!" Dipper shouted, finger on the trigger. It pointed the dart at him, not throwing, but more as if It was trying to make a point. "Why the_ hell _do you look like Robbie?"_

" _ **I am "Robbie". I am not "Robbie". I am you. I am your sister. I am your brother. I am your uncles. We are one in the same."**_

 _Dipper's grip tightened._

" _ **Now."**_

 _Dipper steadied himself._

" _ **Destroy me, you poor, cursed child."**_

 _Dipper closed his eyes._

 _ **"̧I t͢ ̧ i̕ s͡ ͢y o͠ u r̨ n a͢ t ̛u̧ ͜r͞ e."͞**_

 _Dipper pulled the trigger._

* * *

"So I shot at it, and that's what happened." Dipper finished, now covered in gauze and band-aids, but safe. "Then Blubs and Durland and the Fire Department dragged us all out."

"Holy smokes, kid! That's one messed day for yer first week back!" exclaimed a man in a lab coat, glasses, and crazy long beard.

Old Man McGucket shot a toothy grin at the boy sitting across from him while writing down everything he had told the now-unofficial-official Gravity Falls therapist/psychiatrist.

The poor kid looked as stressed at all hell. Dipper Pines kept glancing around, almost as if he were expecting something to jump at him. He kept on tapping his foot and chewing the pen McGucket had so carelessly left on the table.

"Yeah, guess so." Dipper mumbled. "But hey, nothing I haven't dealt with before."

"Not smart to keep things in, boy. It'll git ya when yer least expecting it if ya keep it in. Trust me, I know!" McGucket guffawed.

Dipper shakily smiled a little in response. "I'll remember that, thanks."

"Though I do have one question for you."

The boy tensed.

"Did "It" speak to you at all? Because I just talked to my good buddy Ford, and apparently it spoke to him."

"No." Dipper shook his head.

 _He's probably lying_ , McGucket thought, but he let it go for now. Dipper probably needed time until he could talk about his experience in full detail. Besides, the kid was stubborn, so he doubted he could get an answer out of him. He'd probably tell Stanford later anyway.

"Welp, that's a wrap! Yer free to go!" McGucket suddenly stood up, startling Dipper.

"Uh, alright, thanks." he told him, walking to the door.

"And kid?"

Dipper turned around. "Yeah?"

"I know this is probably tough for you, but if ya need someone to talk to, I'm here." Sober for once, McGucket smiled, then brightened up again and pointed to his(shiiiiiiiiny)nametag. "And also cuz it's mah job!"

Dipper stared at the ex-madman, then chuckled a little. "Thanks McGucket. That really means a lot."

"No problemo! Now shoo! Your sister's paranoid!"

Dipper's eyes widened, then he smacked his forehead and ran out the door.

* * *

"Mabel!" Dipper called out, running into the room that the receptionist said was his Grunkles'. She looked up from her perch at a hospital bed.

"Dipper!" she cried out joyfully, wrapping her arms around him. She was bruised, covered in bandages, with an extra long one wrapped around her head, but she was okay. Mabel was okay. Thank god.

"Are you okay?!" He asked her, staring the bandage around her head.

"The doctor said I have a small concussion, but it's nothing a little Mabel Juice can't fix!" she grinned. "You?"

"I'm fine," Dipper assured her. "Just a little bruised is all."

"Aheeeeeeeeeeeem." Behind them, Grunkle Stan obnoxiously cleared his throat. Dipper nearly smacked himself once again for not checking on him and Great Uncle Ford.

"Grunkle Stan! Great Uncle Ford! Are you okay?!" He asked, scanning both for extreme injuries. Ford's left arm was in a sling, and Stan's torso was wrapped in bandages. They seemed to have recovered quickly, however, since it looked as if they had been in the middle of bickering when Dipper had walked in..

"Never been better, kid." Grunkle Stan sarcastically answered. "Rampaging Hellspawn: My favorite way to start the day!"

Great Uncle Ford sighed. "Ignore him, Dipper. We're fine-though Lee does have a broken rib. He's just awfully upset about his tourist trap almost being burned down."

( _Again_ , the unspoken word rang through the room. But that wasn't something they wanted to talk about, so Dipper stayed quiet.)

"How's the Shack anyway?" he asked.

Ford sat up a bit. "Well, good news is that it hasn't totally burned down. Before you came, I made some...improvements." he smirked. "So it shouldn't take too long to repair. Or too much cash."

Behind Ford, Stan pumped his fist in the air-or at least tried to, but that just triggered his side pain. Everyone chuckled a little at that.

"But in all seriousness," Ford spoke, face turning determined. "We have to figure out what that thing was. Its motives, who sent it, why it looks likes the boy from the funeral home."

"Um, about that…" Dipper muttered. Ford stared at him.

"Do you know anything, Dipper?"

"I…" Dipper sat down in one of the plastic chairs in the room. "It talked to me."

The room went completely quiet.

"So it wasn't just me?" Ford muttered.

"I didn't tell McGucket because I thought this was personal, but It said a lot of weird stuff…" Dipper shuddered. "It said It was and wasn't Robbie."

"Sixer got that too, kid."

"It also said that it was me...? And Mabel. And Grunkle Ford and Stan. Then It just let me...shoot it."

(The part about it " _being his nature_ " was left out.)

"Seriously?" Mabel muttered. "This is one messed up enemy we're facing."

( _Probably nothing compared to Bill_ , but Dipper didn't mention that either.)

"Hmm...if that's what happened, then perhaps It finished its goal." Ford suggested, deep in thought. "We'll have to investigate this as soon as we leave the hospital. Were there any traces of It left behind?"

Dipper shook his head. "No. As soon as I shot it, it kind of just...evaporated."

Stan exhaled suddenly. "Hey Poindexter, what about that crap you were investigating? Cult stuff? Weird guys? Sociopathic hillbillies?"

Ford brightened. "Oh, yes! I've come upon an amazing discovery. It seems that we weren't the first "Zodiac" to exist."

"So…?"

"That boy. Robbie, was it? He represented the Stitched Heart."

Dipper gasped. "It also said something about being...one in the same?"

Ford looked like he was on the verge of an epiphany. "Is it possible that-"

A nurse(quite rudely)opened the room door suddenly, making everyone jump. "Excuse me? A "Soos" and "Wendy" would like to see you."

"Let them in."

Wendy and Soos walked in, relief on their faces seeing that the Pines were okay.

"Dudes! We were totally worried!" Soos grinned at the group. "Great to see that you're okay."

Wendy smirked. "Yeah, what he said. But seriously, can you tell us what happened?"

Dipper and Ford recounted their experience.

"Wow." Soos gasped. "That's cray-cray. Why?"

"Y'know," Wendy remarked thoughtfully, "That's sounds an awful like an expendable soldier, or whatever they're called. They do their work, then die, cuz the Big Boss doesn't need them."

"So are you saying that someone's controlling these guys?" Mabel asked.

"Probably not controlling," Dipper muttered. "I don't know what that thing was, but it definitely _thought_."

Ford's eyes widened. "Then someone sent it. After _us_. And if Wendy's theory is right...then there are only stronger opponents on the way."

* * *

In a dark room, a group of people watched the events that played out in the Mystery Shack again and again in the All Seeing Eye. Stitched Heart's goal had been completed.

One stepped up nervously. "Sir. Are you sure it was the wisest choice to use one of the Ten? We can't afford to waste them."

"No worries," answered a deep voice. The figure held up a half full vial of deep red liquid. "Stitched Heart was _weak_. Expendable. Obsolete. His soul was too merciful to finish the job, so he allowed the current Pine to destroy him without obtaining the necessary amount. Rest assured, the rest will be put to good use. They are _not_ kind."

"Who of the Nine in standby will we be sending next?" Another voice piped up.

" _Eight_. Who we send next depends on _their_ actions." A finger was jabbed at the Eye, now showing the hospital room the Pines family was gathered in.

"But first, why don't we send our good friends a warning?"

The red slowly started to turn black.

* * *

 **This one was real fun to write!**

 **I feel like McGucket, if he became sane enough, could become a psychiatrist/therapist, since he's already been there before.**

 **I'm also looking forward for Gideon and Pacifica's debut into this story~**

 **Anyway, like I said, homework comes first, but I'll get back to this as soon as I can. If you have any questions, just ask.**

 **Will the Pines family solve this mystery? Who is this mysterious organization? What are the Ten/Nine/** _ **Eight**_ **? Where? Who? When? Why? How? Tune in to another exciting chapter of the Resurrected...next year!**

 **(jk jk)**

 ** _Uhfnrqlqj ri d ghdwk frphv iruwk_**

 ** _Wkh idwhg Whq zloo whvw wkhlu zruwk_**

 ** _Exw ehzduh wkh sodjxh derxw wr idoo_**

 ** _Wdlqwhg lqqrfhqfh wkh ylohvw ri wkhp doo_**

* * *

 **BONUS**

"Modified Gun's a mouthful," Stan complained. "Name it or whatever."

"Gabe!" Mabel shrieked.

 _ **Gabriel it is.**_


	7. Contact

**School sucks up my time like a sponge. But hey, what can you do? Apologies once again, I have no idea how hospitals works.**

 **There's some swearing in this chapter, so be warned. If I owned Gravity Falls, it'd be Adult Swim. Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

"We have to go back," Ford insisted to the nurse at reception. "We're being hunted down by murderous ultra-beasts with no sense of morality _whatsoever_! ...I think."

"S-sorry, but I'm afraid that _you'll_ have to stay here for another day or two for safety's sake," the flustered nurse attempted to explain to the scientist. "Y-your kids are fine, but we don't want them running around without adult supervisi-"

"Hold it, hold it!" Mabel shouted all of a sudden, startling the poor nurse even more. "Whaddya mean, adult supervision! We're 14!"

Dipper put a hand on her shoulder. "Mabel, you're scaring her…"

"O-oh, you are? In that case, I g-guess I can let you go, but you'll have to sign some paperwork showing you checked out and-"

"SCREW PAPERWORK! I HAVE A GRAPPLING HOOK!" Mabel shrieked, aiming for the glass door, shattering said glass door, grabbing Dipper, and busting out, all in the span of three seconds. Dipper screamed out a trailing " _Sorryyyyyyy!_ " to the nurse, who nearly fell over in shock.

"W-w-what?" the shocked nurse whispered. "O-oh…oh, this is going to be so much paperwork...are they allowed to do that…?"

Ford sighed. "You're new here, aren't you?"

"Y-yes."

After a lengthy explanation about how things worked in Gravity Falls(the woman wouldn't have believed him if some redcaps hadn't been dragged out of the blood bank right then and there), Ford convinced the nurse to let him and his brother go. They found the kids had beaten them to the burnt-but-still-standing Shack, no doubt due to Mabel's grappling hook.

* * *

"Alright, we're going to at least _try_ to acquire some samples of It's body," Ford explained. "Me and Dipper will search the death-site for samples, Stan, you look through the security tapes. See if you find anything suspicious. Mabel, try to find those darts."

"Okay!"

"Sure."

"Aye-aye!"

Ford and Dipper stayed in the exhibit room while Mabel and Stan went to investigate the wall-hole and tapes respectively. Ford pulled his pocket microscope out of his jacket, and they got to work.

"Dipper, where did Its body dissipate? We'll check there."

"Oh! It was somewhere around...here." Dipper pointed to the center of the room. The wood planks were faintly lighter in that area. It had a strange gray tinge in a heart pattern, a set of jagged lines breaking it. He hadn't noticed it during his escape from the burning Shack.

"Interesting…" Ford murmured. "So this marks Its death-site." The Author tentatively poked a gloved finger in. Shimmering dust stuck to it. He rubbed a bit on a microscope slide, and leaned in to look at the enlarged image.

The strange matter was composed of glittering silver-blue crystals, ever-changing. The small particles kept crashing into each other, creating smaller crystals between them, which then warped into larger crystals, which then were destroyed by more collisions. Ford gasped in realization, and looked up into Dipper's nervous eyes.

"We have to get this to the lab, now! To the basement!" Ford stood up, dashing to the elevator, with Dipper on his heels. Ford handed his nephew the microscope and opened a drawer in his desk, full of manila folders. After a bit of searching, he pulled out a small glass-like orb, about the size of his palm. It glowed faintly, with sparks of blue and violet erupting from the inside every few seconds. What was strangest of all was that the young teen could feel some sort of... _pressure_ emanating from it. It felt as if the atmosphere of Gravity Falls had been condensed into this one tiny ball.

He was, quite literally, snapped out of his thoughts by Ford. "Dipper? Dipper!" his great uncle called, his face twisted in worry. "Are you alright?! You froze as soon as I pulled out the M-Nullifier."

"Oh, sorry Great Uncle Ford. I guess I'm just a little out of it."

The scientist sighed. "Don't scare me like that. Sometimes highly-concentrated magic negatively affects certain people, like an allergy." he explained, holding out the orb for his nephew to observe.

Dipper shook his head. "I'm sure it's fine. I used a couple of the spells from your Journal last summer. Remember the zombie-karaoke party Mabel told you about?"

"Ah, yes. I commend you for that, by the way. Successfully performing such a high-level spell on the first try is nothing if not impressive." Ford flashed the boy a smile, chuckling at the blush that spread like wildfire through his face.

"T-thanks."

"Anyways, we'd better get back to work!" Ford exclaimed suddenly, causing Dipper to jump a little. "Like I said earlier, this orb is a Magic Nullifier. Got it in Dimension 0ll3H. It's...exactly what it sounds like."

"But why do we need it?" Dipper asked.

"I'm glad you asked! You see, the dust around Its death-site has magic infused into it. The ever-changing properties of its crystals are evidence of that." Ford gestured to the empty space between them, holding out a hand and concentrating. Much to Dipper's amazement, a spark appeared. "Magic is like clay. You can shape it into whatever you want, but it's still the same in essence. If we leave that dust just lying around, it could very well reform into the monster that attacked us. Which is why we're going to contain it."

"That's awful…" Dipper murmured. "We'd better contain it then. But how'd you do that, Great Uncle Ford?"

He laughed, the spark brightening for a split second before dissipating completely. "Oh Dipper, this is nothing. I've never been able to generate much power in the form of magic. I'm a man of science, after all. You, on the other hand, seem to have a talent for it. It's the kind of thing only some people have got." Ford sighed, scratching his temple. "I only wish we could put it to more use. Unfortunately, I'm not very capable."

Dipper waved dismissively. "It's fine, really? Let's just finish this."

Ford nodded, and together they went back to the main room. The symbol hadn't changed, though Dipper couldn't help from imagining the monster from rising up out of it, determined to finish what it had started.

Ford knelt down and placed the M-Nullifier in the middle of the heart. To Dipper's surprise, it started to roll in a circle, then suddenly froze and started to glow brightly, rising into the air. The dust rose in tendrils, ominously circling the the now-floating sphere before sinking into it. The orb shook violently, pulsing with power- before ultimately clattering to the floor in an ironically dull manner.

It glowed red and black.

Dipper broke the stunned silence with a "Woah".

"Huh," Ford mused to himself. "That doesn't usually happen."

"OH MY GOSH!" A voiced screeched behind the duo, scaring them. Ford nearly pulled out his gun on Mabel, who had walked up behind them and watched the whole thing conspire.

"Oh, Mabel…" Dipper groaned. "Please don't do that."

"Sorry, bro-bro," Mabel apologized sheepishly. "I didn't mean to scare you guys. I found some darts, by the way!"

"Ah! Excellent, Mabel!" Great Uncle Ford grinned, patting Mabel on the head in gratitude. "I'm going to take these to the lab right away and examine them. I won't be long." And with that, the scientist rushed back down to the basement, his prize in his hands.

"Wow," Mabel remarked. "Grunkle Ford's really excited about this, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Hey Dip...I think I _might_ have figured out why Clay-Face had darts."

Dipper turned to his sister in surprise. "What? How?"

Mabel twirled her hair with her fingers. "Remember the Love-God Incident? I kinda visited him. He had a dartboard in his room."

"A dartboard? You went in his room." Dipper repeated. "Coincidence?"

"I think not!" she grinned. "He seemed like a pretty good shot. Your face was _butchered_."

"Wait, _what_ -"

"Kids!" Grunkle Stan called to the twins, startling them. There was an unsettling look of seriousness plastered onto his face. It was clear that he had found something. "Where's Ford?"

"Downstairs investigating the darts," Dipper answered. "Why?"

"He'll want to see this."

* * *

"What do you mean, there's no tape?!" Ford demanded of his brother, hands clenched.

"You heard me, Sixer. I played them, but they had no sound. Then they just blacked out. I couldn't get them to work again." Stan sighed, shaking his head in defeat. "Sorry."

Ford softened and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine. Did you see anything?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I did. There were these weird...tendrils," Stan explained, trying to re-enact what he saw with his hands. "They kind of just snaked around the room."

"How did they interact with the environment?"

"That's the thing. They sorta...surrounded _us_. Poking and prodding, y'know? I can't explain it, but…" the man tentatively touched a bruise on his forehead, staring at nothing in particular. "They went through us. Then they changed color. Almost like they…"

"Extracted something from us?" Ford whispered lowly, eyes wide.

"Yeah."

Silence.

"What do we do?" Stan asked his twin. "What _can_ we do?"

"We wait." Ford answered, frowning. "I don't like it, but I doubt this is the end. We prepare, and we wait for whoever's leading these things around to act. _Then_ we strike."

"We're putting the kids in danger," he pointed out. "I hope you know what you're doing, Poindexter."

The Author rubbed the back of his head in defeat, unhappy about the way the situation had turned out. He then turned away from his twin and toward the door, quickly opening it. Two kids and a cup fell to the ground.

* * *

Dipper groaned in frustration and pinched his nose. "So we're sitting dogs. Great. Great! We're stuck until we get attacked again."

"Cheer up Dip-dop! At least we've got an idea now! You like ideas!" Mabel grinned, _boop_ ing her brother on the nose. "Help Ford figure something out! Imma get the cavalry ready!" With that, the hyped teenager ran upstairs.

 _Probably to make a marshmallow cannon or something._

Dipper blinked. He thought he'd heard someone.

"Thanks for snooping, kids..." Stan sarcastically muttered to Dipper. Looks like he hadn't wanted him and Mabel to worry about it. Fat chance.

Even so, he hated seeing his family so worked up, so he patted Stan on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Grunkle Stan. We'll get through this."

The gesture seemed to work, as the older man visibly loosened up. "I know we will, kid. Well, I'll leave you two nerds to it. I'm going to make sure Mabel doesn't blow something up." he turned, walking towards the direction of the stairs.

Only to leap back as blue fire exploded from the corridor.

"MABEL!" Dipper screamed. She was still up there!

He heard quiet laughter from somewhere.

Then somehow, his sister ran down, completely unharmed.

"I'm okay! The fire's not warm!" she called, running up to her twin in an embrace.

"You kids okay?! Oh, thank goodness." Grunkle Stan ran up to them, pulling them away from the remainder of the flames, which, strangely enough, hadn't damaged anything.

Instead, they gathered, swirling into a small point before dispersing outward in the shape of a rectangle. It flickered black before an image appeared.

" _Greetings_."

It was a person.

They were dressed in black robes, and sounded masculine. The face was obscured, but Dipper could just barely make out similar forms behind the figure. The most unsettling detail, however, was the golden eye emblem on the hood. It reminded him. And from the looks on his family's faces, it reminded them too.

"Who are you?!" Grunkle Stan demanded, lips twisted into a snarl.

The man chuckled, a ghastly sound that sent chills down Dipper's spine. "Is it not obvious to you? No matter, you will know in due time. Why not hear us out for now?"

"We have _nothing_ to offer you. Why are you attacking us?" Ford asked quietly, fists shaking. It was obvious that he was just barely holding himself together.

"Your wishes do not matter to us. You _will_ give us what we want. Or else we may have to use more... _inhospitable_ methods. You, boy." the man addressed Dipper, setting the teen on edge. "Stitched Heart gave himself up. I will warn you now, the others will be much harder to kill. Why not convince your family surrender?"

Dipper couldn't see his face, but he could _sense_ the smile behind that hood, and what the man said next made his blood run cold.. "After all, what are the chances that your dear family will survive _another_ of the Ten?"

"Leave him alone!" Mabel shrieked, moving to stand in front of her brother. She glared at the figures in the screen defiantly. "Bring it! We can take you any day!"

The man said nothing. _He's waiting to see if any of you still want to surrender_ , Dipper thought.

After a tense moment of silence, the man sighed. "You are all making a huge mistake. It could have been easy. You would not have suffered, or died-"

 _-Just Surrender-_

"-but if this is your choice, then so be it. We will collect you- and the other six- shortly." The man nodded in farewell. "One way or another. Good day."

The image of the group(who were most definitely a cult of some kind)vanished, and the fire dispersed.

Stan summed up all their collective thoughts in one sentence.

"Oh, _shit_."

* * *

 **I'll have you know that a** _ **huge**_ **hint as to what's going on has been dropped in this chapter. You'll have to pay close attention to the dialogue to find it. Have fun.**

 _ **Brxu wkrxjkwv pdb qrw eh brxu rzq. Lw'v qrw Eloo.**_

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Love the Games**

* * *

 **BONUS**

"Woah!" a cult member exclaimed, holding a beer in one hand. "We totally just did that!"

"I know, right?! I can't believe it!" another shrieked in delight, holding a bottle of wine. "Those guys must be shitting their pants right now!"

"Wicked!"

"HYPE! THIS IS HAPPENING, PEOPLE!"

 _Silence._

The command was felt throughout the air, completely silencing the group of new-editions in the corner. At the doorway stood one of Them, arms in her sleeves, a disapproving look on her face.

"Stop it at once. We cannot celebrate until the new Ten submits to us. And _no alcohol_."

"Sorry…"

"Apologies."

"It won't happen again."

"Good," the woman nodded. "It had best not. You know your _leader_ doesn't take kindly to any breaking of the rules." and with that, she walked out of the room, allowing the young recruits to finally breathe.


	8. Yep, There's a Freaking Voice In My Head

**GF Pop Figures are coming! Joy to the world.**

* * *

The cult stood in a circle around the Zodiac.

The grand circle in question glowed ethereally, blue flames reaching towards the ceiling, yet remaining confined to their chalk prison. Nine symbols surrounding it glowed in their respective colors, except for the stitched heart, which had become cracked and gray.

The cultists directed their attention to one symbol in particular, a six-fingered hand. One timidly walked forward, a vial of black liquid in his shaking hands. He slowly kneeled down and opened the cork on the vial, pouring its contents over the symbol.

Suddenly, the small flames flickering at the hand's edges leapt up in a brilliant crimson blaze. The small cultist jerked back in surprise and fear, his hood flying off from the power of the fire.

"Well done, boy."

The cult leader had placed a hand on the platinum hair of the young boy, who couldn't have been older than 16. He turned to face the older man nervously, clenching his hands.

"I did it. Can I go now?" he asked quietly, looking up and trying to catch a glimpse of the man's face, to no avail.

"Not quite. There's one last ingredient needed," The cult leader spoke in a monotone voice, but the implication of his words was all that was needed to trigger the teen, who immediately jumped up, pushing past the other cultists and sprinting out of the room.

The boy heard a "Capture him!" down the hallway, but didn't slow his pace. He knew where the exit was, at least. If he could just make it out, he'd be home-free. He'd go home, sit through a lecture with his parents about how stupid he was for hanging out with the wrong people, then forget about this whole cult crap. He just needed to round the corner…

Only to collide with a whole legion of cultists.

They stood there, knives at the ready. The boy tried to run the opposite direction before realizing he was trapped between the two groups. The head cultist walked forward, moving to stand directly in front of the young man.

"You shouldn't have run. It would've been easier for you to submit." he chastised, a disappointed look on his face.

The boy glared defiantly, despite shaking in his boots. "Please, let me go. Just let me go. I won't tell anyone! I swear!"

"This is your fate. For your own sake, do not struggle." ignoring his pleas, the cult leader turned to his followers. "Take him back."

"NO!" the blonde screamed, breaking into a run before being grabbed by the robed figures surrounding him. They dragged him back towards the room, him struggling all the while. What the head cultist said next chilled him to his core.

"Sixer enjoys pain. You know what must be done."

The last the boy ever saw was the violent glow of the symbol beneath him, mixed with the red of his own blood.

* * *

Elsewhere, the Pines prepared for war.

Stanford had pulled out some gadgets from the basement. After that, he kept to his lab, frantically inventing and sorting various weapons. Stanley watched the twins, glancing out the windows every once in awhile. Wendy was assigned to lookout. Soos ate the last of the chips.

"Grunkle Stanford...are you sure you know what you're doing?" Mabel asked tentatively, watching him assemble and disassemble a pile of small parts.

"I've analysed the remaining samples as best as I can. Now I can only hope that _this_ will destabilize whatever makes up these monsters' bodies," Stanford sighed, leaning back into his chair and rubbing his eyes. "But I have to admit that creating weapons to counter magic isn't the easiest."

Stanley walked up to his brother, holding a cup of coffee out to him. "You want to take a rest? You look seriously tired."

"I'll be fine." Ford insisted, gratefully taking the steaming mug.

"Hey, where's Dipper?" Mabel asked.

"Oh, him? He went up to the attic. I think he's looking through Ford's new thesaurus." Stan replied.

"It's a _journal_ , Lee!"

* * *

"C'mon, there's gotta be something in here…"

Dipper flipped through the pages of Journal 4.

In any other situation, he would've been ecstatic to have one more of his Great Uncle's tombs in his hands. But right now, his goal was to search and see if Stanford had found _anything_ in his travels that could help them.

He _had_ said earlier that he had looked into the Zodiac. Perhaps what Stanford had discovered would help them face these strange doppelgangers, assuming another one arrived? Dipper had a sneaking suspicion that the two were linked.

He was about midway through the book when he found a page with the the symbol in question, demon dorito not included. Each symbol was labeled, some had a few notes by them, which page numbers. Curious, Dipper found the stitched-heart symbol.

 _I came across the Heart while we stopped at the East Coast of the United States. My brother and I were hiking through the Appalachian Mountains, as we had heard the whereabouts of a Sasquatch!_

 _We eventually found him, or rather he found us. Just in the nick of time too! I misstepped and would've severely injured myself had he not caught me by the leg. He was surprisingly courteous(it seems his species is distantly related to the Multi-bear, which explains a lot)._

 _ **Guy's a tattoo nut, but you can't tell cuz of all the hair. -S**_

 _Stop writing in my Journal, Lee! But yes, he had many cool tattoos._

 _I asked him about himself. That made the Sasquatch go on an hour-long lecture about the history of his kind in America. One tale of his caught my attention, however. He mentioned an old artist who made rather strange pieces. I've written down some of the more interesting bits._

 _-Robert Vailen was an englishman who settled in the 1700s._

 _-Settled in Roanoke. He had gone on an expedition, so he was one of the sole survivors of the disappearance of the colony(Note to self: Look into that later)._

 _-Moved to a northern colony, dabbled in art. Apparently one of the Sasquatch's ancestors was a frequent customer and friend of his(When I asked how this was possible, I learned more than I ever wanted to know about a Bigfoot's methods of waxing). And he drew hearts. "Always hearts."_

 _-Deteriorated in health as time went on. Couldn't sleep, stopped eating, artwork got more and more violent and graphic, depicting disgusting depictions of the human body, eyes, and many, many stitched hearts._

 _-Died when his house/shop burned down. Rumor was that he was finishing a "masterpiece" before his death._

 _This reminds me of the symptoms_ _ **I**_ _went through when I was possessed by Bill. Could this Robert fellow be a past victim of his? Could he be some past reincarnation of the Stitched Heart of the Zodiac?_

Dipper gaped at the page. This was more than he had hoped for. A vague history of whatever that _thing_ had been. And assuming it was true, it had been a human named Robert Vailene. A man who had been driven insane by what had most likely been Bill Cipher.

Or maybe he had just been crazy?

 _Whatever. Go back._

Dipper was starting to think _he_ was crazy too.

"Who's there?" he wondered out loud. No answer.

Sighing, he closed the Journal and stood up, stretching. A lot of time had passed, and he needed to see how his family was doing. And tell them about the freaking voice in his head, which he hoped beyond hope wasn't the demon he was thinking of.

 _No._

How reassuring.

"Dipper! Where have you been?" Mabel asked, looking up from her marshmallow cannon.

 _Called it._

Dipper shook his head. "Found a cool thing in the Journal. Probably the thing that attacked us earlier. But, Mabel, I'm having a problem with this voice in-"

"Whatever, Dipdop! You gotta see this!" Mabel interrupted her brother, pointing her marshmallow cannon and firing at him, hitting him right in the face.

"OW! The heck, Mabel?!"

"Sorry!" she giggled, _Clearly not sorry_.

" _Anywaaaaaaaaaaaaay,_ I'm going to keep working on this. Maybe Grunkle Stan has something? Should I add glitter? Sparkles?"

"Mabel, I seriously-"

"What do you think, bro-bro?"

"I really think _you need to listen to me,_ Mabel! I seriously have a problem! There's a-"

"BOTH! That's it!" she grinned, without a care in the world. "So what were you saying?"

"Ugh, just forget it," Dipper hissed, holding the bruise. "Where's Great Uncle Ford? I need to talk to him."

"Living-room. But you were saying something…?"

Dipper turned and left.

* * *

"So this is what you think attacked us? I completely forgot about this!" Ford smiled, skimming through the page detailing the Stitched Heart. "Well, I do think it's a possibility that this is who we faced. This could be useful to us."

"Yeah. You want me to look through and see if I can find anything else?" Dipper asked.

"There's more after the section about the Krakens, if I recall. Use this." Ford flipped to the page and handed the Journal to Dipper. "It details the history of my own symbol."

"Cool!"

 _We found my own symbol, the Six-Fingered Hand, after having a nice chat_ _ **Ford punched her, dang witch**_ _, with a seer in Toronto. Read my palm. I actually listened this time...kind of._

 _She said the typical garbage, my life cut short, cursed bloodlines, the usual. But to my surprise, she had some information on the Six-Fingered Hand. I will admit, what she told me was extremely...unsettling._

Dipper and Ford both jumped as a deafening crash was heard from outside. Dipper closed the Journal and ran out the front door. He froze in shock.

His sister, held by the neck by a large figure in red. She clawed at his hands, to no avail.

"Mabel!" Dipper screamed, sprinting towards the two in a frenzy. Her face turned white, her eyes rolling back. Even from the distance he was at, Dipper could see it.

The man...

...threw her lifeless body...

...to the ground.

"No!"

 _Don't_.

All at once, his body froze as if in absolute shock. He couldn't move, no matter how much he wanted to. It only lasted for a second.

Mabel stood up. Except it wasn't her.

It turned to him, a slasher grin on her face. Its skin eroded, chipping like dry clay. Its eyes were nothing but lifeless black voids. Its sweater sleeves revealed impossibly long steel claws. If he had been just a little closer, it could have sliced him to ribbons right where he stood.

Ford ran out and pulled his nephew back. "What is this?! Who are you?!" he demanded of the man in red. He finally turned to them.

Like the creature standing by it, its face was cracked and pale. Its eyes were solid red orbs, veins exploding out like parasites streaming from his eyes. It smiled.

It looked like Great Uncle Ford.

" _ **Hello, Sixer."**_

* * *

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's a wrap. Everyone's gonna suffer. I hope Dipper likes sleepless nights.

 **Ndupd'v jrlqj wr elwh Pdeho kdug. Vkh kdg lw frplqj.**

 **Bonus**

-Stitched Heart dies-

 _-All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out faces-_

He's emo as all heck.


	9. Apology

**I'll be blunt. This fic will be closed.**

 **I have not fallen out of the Gravity Falls fandom. I'm not even bored with the fic. To be completely honest, I just don't like I'm capable of doing this. When I first started the fic, I was so excited! But as time went on, I realized that my writing skill just wasn't enough. I don't feel like I can write this fic the way I want to. I'm just not good enough.**

 **I can't apologize enough for this. And that's what I've been doing this whole time. Apologizing. But I am truly, truly sorry for having to do this, and I'm disappointed in myself as well.**

 **However, a dim light in the darkness.** _ **The next chapter is going to be an overview of what the fic would've been had I continued.**_ **I might be a cheap quitter, but I know well what it feels like when a fic you like dies, and I don't want to leave this here to rot without explaining what was planned to happen. Perhaps I'll pick this fic back up one day, but I will take no chances in the meantime.**

 **Once again, I apologize. I loved writing this, I truly did, and once I find a good prompt to inspire me, I really want to write a Gravity Falls oneshot (I've been writing some stuff, but not publishing). This fic was fun as heck to write. If anyone wants me to write a certain intended scene, I could.**

 **So, without further ado, proceed to the next chapter to learn how things would've gone.**


	10. The Full Story of Resurrected

**Here's how things would've gone.**

 **The strange organization was a cult that followed Bill Cipher. After his defeat, they prepared for Dipper and Mabel's return. They needed all members of the Zodiac so that they could conduct a ritual to resurrect Bill. The Zodiac was intended to be a double sword of sorts that could either banish Bill, or bring him back if used in the wrong way.**

 **The cult needed the magic essence of the whole Zodiac in order to bring Bill back. Knowing they would never do this willingly, the cult sacrificed people and used their bodies to bring back past, evil incarnations of the Zodiac, under their control. They would steal the essence of the current incarnations, preferably kill them, and perform the ritual.**

 **The golems would have special powers. Examples being...**

 **Stitched Heart: Strength and Hallucinations**

 **Glasses: Machinery**

 **Shooting Star: Small Meteors**

 **Pentagram: Telekinesis**

 **Where we left off, Sixer and Shooting Star attacked at the same time. Sixer would not walk away, but Shooting Star would escape. After this, the Pines would put two and two together and begin warning the other members of the zodiac.**

 **Gideon, Pacifica, and Robbie would join the Pines in defeating the resurrected Zodiac. They would've gotten character development. Gideon and Robbie striking up a friendship, Gideon starting to move past Mabel, Robbie and Dipper coming to some sort of understanding, Pacifica and Mabel finding some stuff in common,** _ **mayyyybe**_ **some dipcifica hints.**

 **Meanwhile, the voice in Dipper's head would be revealed to be the past Pine Tree, whose powers influenced minds. He'd continue trying to break Dipper, slowly taking control throughout the story. This would strain Dipper's relationship with Mabel.**

 **Despite being able to beat most of the Zodiac, a powerful counterattack by the cult of Bill would trap the team and take them hostage. The current Zodiac team would eventually escape and hurry to stop the ritual, eventually finding and capturing the cult leader, gaining an advantage. It would be here that the cult leader, at the height of Dipper and Mabel's strain, would reveal that Mabel gave Bill the rift, starting Weirdmaggedon.**

 **By this time, Dipper's mind would be pushed to the brink, and the shock would be enough for Pine Tree to fully take over. The Pines would stay behind to stop him as the rest of the team hurried to stop the ritual. Mabel would have to confront her flaws and negative treatment of her brother, and take responsibility for inadvertently starting Weirdmageddon (assuming she remembered giving Bill the rift and simply decided not to say anything). The Pines family would eventually be able to snap Dipper out of it, Dipper's will empowering Pine Tree's and expelling him from his mind forever.**

 **Bill would be resurrected for all but a minute, but due to the ritual being halted by the Pines and their allies (and a sacrifice from McGucket, yes, he was intended to die stopping the ritual), his form would be too unstable, causing an explosion which would destroy the cult base.**

 **The team would make it out. A week at the hospital and a funeral for McGucket. Things would slowly go back to normal. The epilogue sees Dipper and Mabel's siblingship back to how it was before Pine Tree's influence, but a little better (getting some development they unfortunately didn't get in Weirdmaggedon). Things start looking up again. The End.**


End file.
